Frank
New Tweak --- Its Fantastic
THE NEW TWEAK
Over the good part of this past year I’ve been beta testing a new tweak, the name of which is "Total Contact." Its a hi-bred graphene contact enhancer that is different from all other contact enhancers that have come and gone for one reason or another. I’m not new to these contact enhancers, having had quite a bit of experience with a product developed by the late Brian Kyle and his "Quick Silver" contact enhancer. The "Total Contact" is different ... a LOT different.
"Total Contact" is graphene based and is not a vibration control. It eliminates micro-arching between two contacts. Micro-arching, much like Micro-vibration smears the sound in our stereo systems. Its the type of distortion that we don’t know is there .... until we eliminate it. There is no break-in as we know it. The sound is improved right off the bat, but what you hear is only a smidgen of what’s to come.
I tested three generations of "TC," each of which was an improvement over the previous incarnation. The final mix was cryogenitically treated and made for a more effective, much smoother application. It comes in a large hypodermic needle type plunger containing 1.5 ml of product and includes a instructional DVD and an application brush.
The application should be applied with a very thin coat to all of your electrical connections .... from your cartridge pins to your power cords. I did my entire system, including the ends of my fuses.
Upon initial application, you will notice an improvement in clarity, correctness of tonal balance and a more overall organic sound. But ... that is just scratching the surface of what this magic paste does. As it cures, the improvements become more apparent. Much more!
There are two real break-through events that happen almost to the day with "Total Contact," one at four weeks and another at eight weeks . At four weeks, you’ll get a real jump in clarity and overall improvement. That’s only a taste though of what’s to come at eight weeks. At eight weeks your system’s focus will make a jump in SQ that is so real - its surreal.
After 40 years in the hobby, and a total tweak nut, I have never heard anything that does what this graphene paste does. The see-through clarity at eight weeks becomes simply amazing. The "paste" eventually cures into a kind of polymer plastic and it seems that the sound improves with each listening session. So, its important that you leave your contacts alone for the duration. If you’re the type of person that continually switches wires in and out, you’ll have to re paste until enough time has elapsed to get "the cure."
The only problem I had was with the first batch and that had to do with shorting out a tube pin in the line stage. Use the "TC" very sparingly on tube pins, if at all. I only had problems with the line stage tube pins. The Amp, CD Player and Phono Stage has had no tube pin problems at all.
Tim Mrock, one of our fellow A’goners, is the developer of the product. Its taken Tim 15 years and several patents to get it right. Tim has "pasted" every electrical contact he can find in his audio system, all of the switches in his circuit breaker box, every contact in his car ... and has used it in commercial applications such as hospital circuit breakers, surgical lights ... and other places where efficiency and long life of electrical components are deemed important.
This product is highly recommended to anyone who truly wants to get the most out of his/her audio systems. There’s enough product in each tube to do at least two audio systems as it just takes a very thin coat on each application to be effective. The last tube was enough to do my system twice and then a friend’s system this past weekend.
Frank
PS: There were a couple of other A’goner beta testers of this product as well. Hopefully, they will chime in here with their experiences for comparison. I "pasted" both of Steve Fleschler’s systems a few days ago, perhaps he will comment on his results too. We forgot to paste Steve’s power cords though, so there’s a lot more to be had from Steve’s two fantastic systems.
Frank
Over the good part of this past year I’ve been beta testing a new tweak, the name of which is "Total Contact." Its a hi-bred graphene contact enhancer that is different from all other contact enhancers that have come and gone for one reason or another. I’m not new to these contact enhancers, having had quite a bit of experience with a product developed by the late Brian Kyle and his "Quick Silver" contact enhancer. The "Total Contact" is different ... a LOT different.
"Total Contact" is graphene based and is not a vibration control. It eliminates micro-arching between two contacts. Micro-arching, much like Micro-vibration smears the sound in our stereo systems. Its the type of distortion that we don’t know is there .... until we eliminate it. There is no break-in as we know it. The sound is improved right off the bat, but what you hear is only a smidgen of what’s to come.
I tested three generations of "TC," each of which was an improvement over the previous incarnation. The final mix was cryogenitically treated and made for a more effective, much smoother application. It comes in a large hypodermic needle type plunger containing 1.5 ml of product and includes a instructional DVD and an application brush.
The application should be applied with a very thin coat to all of your electrical connections .... from your cartridge pins to your power cords. I did my entire system, including the ends of my fuses.
Upon initial application, you will notice an improvement in clarity, correctness of tonal balance and a more overall organic sound. But ... that is just scratching the surface of what this magic paste does. As it cures, the improvements become more apparent. Much more!
There are two real break-through events that happen almost to the day with "Total Contact," one at four weeks and another at eight weeks . At four weeks, you’ll get a real jump in clarity and overall improvement. That’s only a taste though of what’s to come at eight weeks. At eight weeks your system’s focus will make a jump in SQ that is so real - its surreal.
After 40 years in the hobby, and a total tweak nut, I have never heard anything that does what this graphene paste does. The see-through clarity at eight weeks becomes simply amazing. The "paste" eventually cures into a kind of polymer plastic and it seems that the sound improves with each listening session. So, its important that you leave your contacts alone for the duration. If you’re the type of person that continually switches wires in and out, you’ll have to re paste until enough time has elapsed to get "the cure."
The only problem I had was with the first batch and that had to do with shorting out a tube pin in the line stage. Use the "TC" very sparingly on tube pins, if at all. I only had problems with the line stage tube pins. The Amp, CD Player and Phono Stage has had no tube pin problems at all.
Tim Mrock, one of our fellow A’goners, is the developer of the product. Its taken Tim 15 years and several patents to get it right. Tim has "pasted" every electrical contact he can find in his audio system, all of the switches in his circuit breaker box, every contact in his car ... and has used it in commercial applications such as hospital circuit breakers, surgical lights ... and other places where efficiency and long life of electrical components are deemed important.
This product is highly recommended to anyone who truly wants to get the most out of his/her audio systems. There’s enough product in each tube to do at least two audio systems as it just takes a very thin coat on each application to be effective. The last tube was enough to do my system twice and then a friend’s system this past weekend.
Frank
PS: There were a couple of other A’goner beta testers of this product as well. Hopefully, they will chime in here with their experiences for comparison. I "pasted" both of Steve Fleschler’s systems a few days ago, perhaps he will comment on his results too. We forgot to paste Steve’s power cords though, so there’s a lot more to be had from Steve’s two fantastic systems.
Frank
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My latest tip for Total Contact : If you have run out of things to do with your remaining Total Contact, and if you don’t want to waste the leftover by letting it dry out in the syringe over the next 6 months, do this : Get some fo.Q TA-32 tape via eBay. Lightly brush all the tape with the remaining TC. Spread it very thin. Now you can use and re-use the tape on any cable terminations etc. in future, and the TC won’t be wasted. TC is very, very effective when applied to fo.Q and wrapped around cable terminations. |
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Quick story, Last week I was getting my trusty LP12 tuned up by my long time dealer/friend. He got done and we played a few LP cuts to fine tune my speaker placement. A tweak to toe end and all was spot on. I asked him I he had tie to listen to a couple of songs on a cd from a artist we both like. He agreed. Though mostly retired he is always ready to go tune up another Hi-Fi. We played the two short cuts and an hour later and two discs later he said that the bass was way better than what he gets out of his, identical to mine, Opus 21 player. He had not heard it since I placed the mat and e-cards on and over the power chord connection, umbilical and interconnect connections to the preamp, a couple of months ago. I showed him what I had done since he last heard it. The reaction was of a subtle dis belief. He had to go and no more was said. He called me the next morning and congratulated me on the sound of my Hi-Fi. In the thirty-eight years that I have known him that has never happened. He has seen and heard it all. I think I will loan him a couple of e-cards to play with. Play the music and they will come. |
oregonpapa, If I have already apply Caig DeoxIt and Progold on my connections, do I have to remove it with alcool, or if I can reapply over, Total Contact
Enhancer ? Would I have enough product to treat all of a stereo system: Turntable; Phono pramp; CD; Preamp; Power amp; (2) speakers; Ac Cable; IC cable ? Which would add better inprovements AC cable or IC Cable ? Thank you |
audiosens ... 1. I used the Caig prpducts for years. I just applied the TC on the connections without cleaning them first. They were already cleaned by using the Caig products. 2. There is enough paste in each tube to treat two large systems. If you really get into it and discover more effective places to paste like a lot of us have, you'll need more than one tube. 3. Apply to all cable connections. I even pasted my phono cartridge pins. Use your imagination. And ... read this entire thread. There's tons of info to be had here. Take care ... Frank |
Interesting facts. Graphene is the most impermeable material discovered. Helium atoms can’t even get through graphene. Graphene conducts electricity much better than copper. Graphene’s current density is 1,000,000 times greater than copper and its intrinsic mobility is 1,000 times more conductive than silicon.Aug 26, 2013 I don’t even have to bring up the issue of micro arcing. Which is why it’s a good idea to treat all non audio power plugs 🔌 . You know, refrigerators, computers, lamps, perhaps light bulbs, too. 💡 |
No it’s nothing like ProGold, except that both improve the sound in different ways. ProGold is great (I used it for decades), but it’s effect is mild compared to TC’s hyper-intense. ProGold fully applied across all connections might take a hypothetical system from a reality level of 35% to 40%. No more, and then it wears off. TC fully applied across the same connections might take that same system to 65% or higher. And it doesn’t wear off. The effects of TC can be augmented and magnified by combining it with other products and materials from the same manufacturer, and from other sources. It’s far more versatile than just a contact enhancer. You can experiment and maybe at times approach the total suspension of disbelief. 90% plus... So closely it may be almost mentally disturbing at times. You may take to cursing under your breath after playing certain records. It takes some commitment. But as Geoff says, faint heart ne’er won fair maiden. |
whostolethebatmobile ... "You can experiment and maybe at times approach the total suspension of disbelief. 90% plus... So closely it may be almost mentally disturbing at times." For sure. I had a friend over two nights ago and I threw on the two-CD set of Pink Floyd's "The Wall." I'm telling you, we had a sound stage that went wall to wall and floor to ceiling, and depth that went back forever. The lyrics were more clearly defined than ever before. Roger Water's guitar was so dynamic and so viscerally there in the room, it was uncanny. You say "mentally disturbing." I say ... downright scary. *lol* Just about every recording I'm playing now has a new life because of Tim's products. Amazing stuff ... Frank |
discopants ... I pasted just about everything inside of my Sound Application power conditioner, including the entire inside of the lid. I did not paste any bare wires where they connect to caps, etc. Just about everything else got at least a touch of paste. I did paste the connecting wires to the outlet plugs and the plugs themselves. It took an entire tube of paste, and most of a day, to do the job as I tried to treat every surface I could. The results were well worth the effort. There was an initial degrading of the sound for a couple of days, which is expected with this product, but everything comes back better than ever. And the bonus is, it keeps on improving over several months. Frank |
Hi all, I've heard about graphene a few years ago.. but never found a product that I trusted to smear on my expensive kit. Thankfully, I just talked to Frank the other day and he mentioned the Total Contact. Yup... I want some. So... my first thought is... are you guys first cleaning the corrosion off of the contact points Before applying the total contact? If so... what product are you using?Someone had mentioned Deoxit in one of the forums... but some of these leave a protective anto-oxidation layer. I don't know if that would be a god thing if I'm going to apply the graphene. |
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I'm interested in trying the Total Contact Graphene. Anyone interest on going in on the two pack graphene sale and save some money? 2 pack Total Contact: Reg.$600. Only $449.https://perfectpathtechnologies.com/product/2-pack-bundles |
spenav Sorry... no PMI also clicked on your name to send you a message... but not seeing "Contact this person" option. WTF : ( |
Total Contact arrived!So, I have cd player w external power supply, pre-amp with external power supply, line conditioner, and amp. That's a lot of fuses, cables and cords. To start, I only applied Total Contact to the CD external PS... fuse, male IEC on unit and male on power cord... and XlR pins on CD player for external power unit cord.I found an electrical contact spray cleaner and used that with Q-tips to clean contacts. The used Q-tips showed how dirty the contact points were. YUK! Turn system on and warm up for ten minutes after application... then played same song. Everything was more present... pluck of the strings, vocals, bass was heavier and tighter, the backing vocals became clear in pronunciation... and imaging. There were some songs on the CD that never interested me so never played them. This time I listened to the whole CD... as all son's sounded so amazing. And to think... I was considering upgrading to a used $8k - $10k USD player... Not now! OMG... what's going to happen when I do the rest of my system?Today I'm doing CD player PC and XLR's... Looking forward to playing all my favorites all over again : ) |
Anyone have experience with pasting a turntable Lemo connector ? I have a VPI prime and while recently installing a new cartridge (I pasted the cartridge pins) and had to disconnect this lemo connector which has 4 pins buried inside the housing, so unlikly I can get to these pins but the outside casing (that push fits into a female casing) is accessable. Can't think of any reason it'd cause a short, but going careful here and thought I'd ask around. Thanks. |
richmon ... My motto is ... if its a connection, paste it. Frank |
gotcha, thanks I'm assuming you mean electrical connections, but in a lemo the pins are the electrical connection and I can't access them, the only thing pastable is the male lemo 'case' -just a mechanical connection, but perhaps could benefit from the 'shielding' effect of Graphene given the low current in the tonearm wires ? |
richmon... Pasting surface areas helps too. For example, I've pasted my tonearm and the sides of the cartridge. Also, the inside of the covers for the room's outlets and the inside of the cover for the power conditioner. But then, I'm nutz. :-) Frank |
Apparently Frank is nutz... and is a pasteaholic : ) so when I was pasting my CD player power supply fuse and IEC, I thought that it's finally time to pull the cover off and see what's inside. So while inside, I thought of Frank pasting everything... and then proceeded to paste solder joints. While I was pasting the
power switch
solder joints it occurred to me... and will drive me nuts... how do I get paste inside of my power switches? This may be the only
pressure contact points
in the system
that can't be pasted : ( |
Well my curiosity got the best of me and I ordered up a tube of TC. It arrived yesterday, so last night I pasted all cable connections on my components, cartridge pins on my TT, spades on my speaker cables and the male ends of all power cords. I did not do the fuses or any internal parts of the components as this requires a lot more effort than I was up to last night, and just wanted to hear what difference it would make only doing the low hanging fruit of the system. After powering the system back up and letting things warm up for a few minutes I played a few LPs. I immediately heard an improvement in clarity (especially the midrange and bass), a wider and deeper soundstage, and greater overall musicality. After 30 minutes or so it started to sound even better. I'm really impressed by how much improvement it made. This morning I spent about an hour listening to my music server to compare improvements in the digital side of my system. Similar to the analog side, I noticed dramatic improvement. I haven't yet played any CDs but I will probably test this later today. I want to make sure everyone knows that I spent my own money to purchase and test this product. I have not tried any other contact enhancement products in the past so I cannot compare TC to anything else on the market. All I can say is that TC works great. I have a LOT of remaining product so I will continue to paste other connections bye and bye. |
Hi
snackeyp
You might be going about it the wrong way. You need to have a strategy. If later you decide to do inside your components you would need to redo the power cords and interconnects again. The reason for that is that the TC need time to cure (about a month or so) and the contacts should not be broken during that time. You need to let everything sit still. The best way is to start with your power outlets then inside the component then ICs and power cords, finally you can do your fuse box with the help of an electrician. The main thing is not to break the contact for a while or you will have to start over again. Hope that helps. |
I have some nano diamant contact oil currently in transit from the NL. I propose to use as recommended , but also I have considered using on the internal circuit breaker contact points. The CB is a sealed unit , so to get access I am going to remove the securing rivets . Has anybody else done this mod and is it worth the trouble? Thank You |
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